BrightSource's failed initial public offering is emblematic of the dark clouds that have settled over the solar market, analysts and industry executives said.

The head of the world's biggest wind turbine maker, Vestas, said the U.S. turbine market is likely to fall by 80 percent in 2013 because of the expiration of a tax credit.

Shaky battery maker A123 Systems unveiled a new battery technology that the company says is a breakthrough in the industry.

The U.S. Commerce Department launched an investigation that could lead to steep import duties on more than $100 million worth of wind energy towers from China and Vietnam.

The former secretary of California's Environmental Protection Agency said the U.S. had better get smarter about its alternative energy policies soon.